The Neutral Tone and the '--' Marker

01

Which Syllables

Almost all of them are grammatical rather than lexical: aspect markers, sentence-final particles and result complements. 矣 (--ah--ah--ah4), 無 (--bô--bô--bo5), 著 (--tio̍h--tio̍h--tioh8), 過 (--kuè--kòe--kue3) and 咧 (--leh--leh--leh4) are the ones you will meet most often.

• 恁逐家有看著無？

  lín ta̍k-ke ū khuànn --tio̍h --bôlín ta̍k-ke ū khoàⁿ --tio̍h --bôlin2 tak8-ke1 u7 khuann3 --tioh8 --bo5

  Did you all see it?

• 我感覺足好矣！

  guá kám-kak tsiok hó--ahgóa kám-kak chiok hó--ahgua2 kam2-kak4 tsiok4 ho2--ah4

  I feel great!

02

Why the Marker Matters

The double hyphen is not decoration — it tells you two things at once. First, say this syllable lightly and without a tone of its own. Second, and less obviously, the syllable BEFORE it keeps its full citation tone: a neutral syllable stops the sandhi cycle. So hó--ah keeps hó exactly as the dictionary gives it, where in an ordinary two-syllable word that first syllable would have shifted.

03

Same Word, Two Lives

Several of these have a full-toned twin that is a different word entirely. Full-toned 過 (kuèkòekue3) is the verb to pass, to cross; toneless --kuè is the experiential marker. Full-toned 著 (tio̍htio̍htioh8) means correct; toneless --tio̍h marks a result. The hyphens are how the writing tells them apart.